All he could see was pitch-black darkness.
There was no sound, nothing to smell, and nothing to feel.
He tried to open his eyes, but he couldn't feel his eyelids move. Pain and fear was all that he was able to remember along with a blinding red light, but just as he was about to lose those memories, he felt immense pain.
Yes, it was a feeling, not just a memory. It felt like he had been thrown into magma, but he also felt like he was flying, and he could tell that he was flying at a very fast speed.
He could only describe the feeling as being transformed into a meteor flying towards a planet, about to crash into it and bring destruction.
Just as his thoughts were running wild, he felt the burning sensation vanish along with the feeling of flying at unimaginable speeds. Replacing those feelings and sensations was the man who appeared in front of him.
The moment the man appeared, the sensations and feelings disappeared. The muscular man, who was wearing almost nothing, smiled at him before he opened his mouth to speak.
"The fact that you're seeing me means that your soul has found a compatible body. For better understanding, you can say that you have transmigrated, and you can consider me as someone similar to a god, even though I'm not one.
I'm just a higher being, and based on the orders from the True God, I have selected you to be the future guardian of the universe that you have transmigrated into. In a sense, you will have the powers of a god, but only in this universe.
Of course, you will have to achieve this position through your own hard work and skills. If you don't meet the expectations of the True God, we will have to pick someone else. This will take time, so I suggest taking your time, and once you're ready, I'll come and meet you."
The man stopped speaking, and his body began to fade away, but all of a sudden, the process stopped, and he spoke again.
"Oh yes, I won't be going into details, but since I'm not the guardian of the universe you are currently in, I let your soul pick a compatible body on its own. This means that there is a soul that has given up on the body you have chosen, so you will have to carry on the last wish or the will of the soul that previously resided in the body that you picked."
This time, the man completely vanished from his vision, and replacing him was a tall, handsome young man who stared at him with his arms across his chest.
"I... I don't want to go back to living with my parents. Even if it means picking death, I would do so as long as it helps me avoid living with them," the handsome man said, and unlike the muscular guy from before, he did not fade away. Instead, he walked towards Ben.
"I'll be watching you from here so please... just stay away from there. The moment you start living with them, you'll lose control of the body, and you should already know what will happen after that. You die," he said, and Ben's vision began to blur until he felt the familiar piercing light that made his vision go red when he had his eyes closed.
He opened his eyes slightly, squinting due to the light that was hitting his face directly, and then looked around to see a stunning woman who had her bare back exposed to him as she moved towards one of the nearby doors.
Once she was out of his sight, he sat up and took in the room's interior. The large, soft bed that he was sitting on was very clean, and there was a small bedside table beside it. A huge window to his right allowed him to take in the magnificent view of the city that was shimmering with light in the night sky.
There was one large television right in front of him, attached to the wall, and then there was a mirror to his left and the currently occupied bathroom a few meters beside it.
The first thing he did was to get off the bed and looked at his reflection in the mirror. An unfamiliar face stared back at him, and a few seconds later, he let out a sigh.
'Looks like that wasn't a dream...', he thought, and his jaw fell when he took a look at the rest of his body.
He hurriedly moved towards the bed and looked around for a second before spotting clothes that were meant for a male. He then wore them as fast as he possibly could, as he still remembered the fact that there was a woman in the bathroom.
Once he was done putting on his clothes, he walked back towards the mirror and took a short glance at the door of the bathroom while his thoughts stirred into motion.
'Just what is the relation between that woman and this body before I took over?' he thought, and took in his reflection once again. This time, he nodded in approval as he put his hand through his hair and ruffled it.
Walking closer to the mirror, he bent a little forward to get a better look at his face.
"Damn, this face can literally make people scream if I become an actor or someone famous in the future," he muttered as he looked at the reflection of the young man with short black hair who was staring back at him. His jaws weren't as sharp as knives, but he did have a really good jawline.
With a wide smile on his face, he thought to himself, "A mixture of both handsomeness and cuteness. Hmm... black hair and black eyes too huh? It's a plain combination but I don't think it matters as long as people don't have some kind of prejudice against a combination like this. I wonder what Sofia would say if she saw me like.... oh well."
The smile on his face vanished as he walked back to his bed in a sour mood. His memories flooded back in full force, making him nauseous, but unfortunately for him, the bathroom door was closed, and he did not want to barge in without knowing about the relationship between the woman inside and his body.
Hurriedly, he opened up the window and took in the fresh air, which made him feel a little better, but that was also when he heard a voice in his head.
"Looks like you are aware of your surroundings and about the transmigration, so I will do my job and share my memories with you before I go silent for eternity," a familiar voice said, and a second later, an intense sharp pain assaulted his mind.
Unable to withstand the pain, he fell to the floor, unconscious.